The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1887-12-20

monarch. the prerocative has been gaining
ground. Session afteI session of the Legs
lature produced new laws enlarging the
Kings powers. until at length the majority
! of the Legislature became a set of puppets.
Coming to the present Constitution, his
! Excellency stated that the golden thread
| running through the whole document was
responsible government His idea of re-
sponsible government was that no one could
be invested with any power whatever unless
he was responsible for his acts to the people.
| 1t is absurd for us to assert that we have
responsible Government If our legislative
acts are to be abrogated by personal veto.
The honorable member referred to the
tremendous opposition in the British Islands
to the Coercion Act, but there was no veto
| heard of in connection with 1t. The New
| England Colonies resisted the Kings power
on the principle of "no representation, no
taxation" although the whole amount of
| their tax was only ESQ a year. Our rallying
cry must be, mo responsibility, no power"
| and we must insist upon that idea being car
! ried out.
| The principles contended for by the Ameri-
| can reyolutionists are the same principles
| that we are called upon to maintain to day.
| The question before MS X as important to Us
as the ISSUE .. "a, .vvO,utiou vi i176 was to
those engaged III 1t.
The gauntlet of prerogative was thrown
| down to us about the first of the yeHr when
we were asked, What are You going to do
| about it 2" We took it up and showed what
we meant TO do about it. Now the gauntlet
| is thrown down again and it remains to be
| seen what we can do about 1t.
| Noble Widemann said that there is no use
in our discussing what we would like to have
in the Constitution. The matter ought to be
| referred to the Supreme Court; that was the
proper place to have it settled. He moved
| the question. ' HI-:h-r the King has the
! right ve;u ..ithuIt the advice of his Minis
| tiers, sc re.ei ced +, thu supreme Court.
Rep hauhi could See nothing in the Con-
| stitution or laws requiring the appointment
! of a committee as proposed in this resolution.
| Minister Green said-That for the past six
! years there had been constant trouble caused
by the King acting contrary to his Ministers
and to the Legislature. Legislatures had
endorsed Ministers, and the King had next
day turned them out. He is prevented from
doing this to-day; but he Is vetoing bill
contrary to the Cabinet and the Legislature
together. 1t might be said that he ought not
| to speak in this way, being Minister, but
| there were times when one ought not to keep
| back what ought to be said. He wished to
| be friendly with the King as he had always
| been But there was no friendship IN not
| telling him the whole truth, and placing be
| fore him the facts as they stand. IL there
are friends of the King in the House, he
would say to them that there are difficulties
ahead of His Majesty which he does not fore
| see II he takes a position opposed to the Leg
! isatare, and rejects the advice of his Min
! listers. dis taking position of autagonlsm
! to the LeoislatuTeand the Ministers is fraught
! with the greatest danger TO the whole cUun-
! try. Whether the step proposed in this reso-
| luton is the best one TO take, be was not pre-
| pared t. say, but ne hoped the Legislature
would take some means of effectively adyls-
| ing His Majesty to take course different
| from that he had taken.
| k,ppav said tlnt ia HDusn had com
mitted itself and the Ministers had COM
mitted themselves. We are all in the
! stream. Let US carry this thing through.
| About submitting this question to the SUI
preme Court, whatever the Supreme Court
may decide, this House is equal to them and
must give its voice on the question. If we
draw back from this resolution, we indicate
| that His Majesty is equal to two-thirds of the
House and two-thirds of the country. BY
| this resolution we give advice as to how this
| Kingdom can go on. The committee of thir-
teen can go to His Majesty and present this
resolution as the will of this House, from
which the House will not 90 back. How do
honorable members who oppose the appoint
| ment of a committee propose to send this
| resolution-in wheelbarrow He would
| not vote for the resolution if it meant for the
committee to go over to the Palace and
wrangle. 1t is weak, pitiable and miserable
move for the House to attempt to hide itself
| behind the Supreme Court. The Judges of
| the Supreme Court cannot help US. He did
not want 10 indulge III personalities about
| the King, nor he did not believe III currying
favor with the King. He would acknowledge
| all the rights of the King, but he would ex-
| pect the King to treat US like men. If this
| thing goes on there will be a continuous per-
| sonal friction between the King and the peo-
| pie If His Majesty means by this act that
he has the right of veto as in former years,
it means that the will of the King will be the
will of any rascal that can sneak in at the
back door and gam the Kings ear, The
King has not heard much of a rumble yet,
but If this and other bills aJre vetoed and the
yetoes cannot be overcome by tWo-thirds
vote, there will be a noise that will be tor
ment to King and people. We mean that the
King shall stay on his throne and we will set
tie our own affairs.
Noble Young said it was all but impossible
to get twelve men to agree on small matter
and 1t is no wonder if all the members of
this House cannot agree on great matter.
He thanked God he had not so much legal
education as some lawyers. Anyone can see
what this Constitution means, but no one
can see it who does not want to. He wished
to say to Hawaiians in the House that it was
his desire to maintain them in their rights.
He wanted to make 1t impossible for any
miserable sneaks to be continually crawling
about the King, to overturn the throne and
the King with it. Until within the past few
uaJs LIS -hdJoSly uLuoIotOOu lulo dlblClS VI
the Constitution precisely as we did. If God
would take care of the Kings false friends,
he might take care of his enemies himself
About abiding by the decisions of the Su-
preme Court, if this we're given to two law
yers, one would say it was white, the other
that it was black. But this pamphlet, the
constitution, is plain reading. The object |
of the revolution was to prevent King Kala-
kaua from running this nation to destruc-
ton, without putting some brake upon him.
The intention of the reform was that the
King reign over US by the advice of his Min
listers. 1t was to put him in such position |
as to prevent him from perpetrating acts
such as those of late years which would have |
involved the destruction of the country and |
himself. His Majesty has the respect of the |
community only so long as he will abide by |
the Constitution.
DR.. Wight said: If he was not strongly |
opposed to the previous question, he should |
have moved it heretofore. The longer they |
talked the hotter they became. He depre- |
Gated the Incorporate language that had |
been used. Civility was a cheap commodity, |
and it was With prnfOnnd regret he heard |